Hi Alex: > Still awaiting a reply about the Ecozone Ecoballs that can be used separately > from the Bluemagic ball.
I found this product on the website you gave. Clicking on it will bring up a menu page that lets you find the ingredients and the percentage of their use in the product. I was faintly worried by the 2% that is iron oxide - I thought iron oxides were trouble for cellulose-based fibres - but the thing is you never know with these complicated chemical formulations whether some of the other ingredients might mitigate the problem. The iron oxides are only 2%, though, and so they are less important than the main ingredient, Sodium alpha Olefin Sulfonate, at 37%. I quickly found a page that told me far more than I could understand about Sodium alpha Olefin Sulfonate (the page is at http://www.chemicalland21.com/specialtychem/perchem/SODIUM%20ALPHA%20OLEFIN%2 0SULFONATE.htm if you want to have a go.) Basically, the gist of the information is that it's an anionic surfactant, like most laundry cleaners. This particular one has properties that increase the product's biodegradability and protect against acid damage. Like other anionic surfactants (including common soap) it does a good job cleaning oil-based dirt. I'm not a chemist, but judging from what I read I would think this product could be used on anything you could use common soap on, including the ordinary laces that we make and put on our clothing. If it's a matter of a fine old lace, however, I'd stick with the standard cleaning recipes - there are just too many chemicals for anybody who doesn't work in the industry to fully understand. Hope this helps. Adele North Vancouver, BC (west coast of Canada) - To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [email protected]. For help, write to [email protected]. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003/albums/most-recent
